1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a heat dissipation device, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device with clips incorporating a retention module for securing the heat dissipation device to a heat generating electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known that heat is produced during operation of electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs). The heat produced must be quickly removed to ensure normal operation of the CPU. Thus heat sinks are commonly attached to CPUs to remove excess heat.
According to related art, a heat sink is often directly attached to a printed circuit board on which a CPU is mounted. The heat sink is attached to the printed circuit board using one or more screws. The screws are inserted from a back surface of the printed circuit board and are screwed into the heat sink positioned on a front surface of the printed circuit board. However, the using of the screws to hold the heat sink is a complex operation to perform on an assembly line as it requires accurate placement of the heat sink and screwing of multiple small screws into place. In addition, heat sinks of the related art are typically bulky, unwieldy, and completely prevent access to the CPU. Access to the CPU is repeatedly required, for example, for repair, testing, or replacement of the CPU. In many instances, very little space is present near the back surface of the printed circuit board. In such instances, the entire printed circuit board must be removed to gain access to the screws. Removing the entire printed circuit board is a time consuming task which is awkward and which costs money in wasted man-hours.
As an additional drawback, the screws used in related art systems do not always uniformly attach the heat sink to the CPU. That is, if all of the screws are not tightened to the same extent, the heat sink may not uniformly contact the surface of the CPU.